from Artistdirect.com

                Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea  
                    Album Review:
 

                During her nearly decade-long career, Polly Jean Harvey went through as many incarnations as she has
                    albums. From the arty young woman from Yeovil on her debut album, Dry, to Rid of Me's modern punk
                    poetess to the postmodern siren of To Bring You My Love and Is This Desire?, Harvey has managed to
                    carry off so many transformations through the sheer talent and passion in her work.
                    With her sixth album, Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea -- inspired by her six-month stay in
                    New York City as well as her life in the English countryside -- she's changed again.
                    The stylish, subtly sexy image she presents on the cover of the album suggests what its dozen songs confirm:
                    PJ Harvey has grown up.
                    The allegories and metaphors of her previous work are replaced with direct, vulnerable lyrics, and the
                    album's production polishes the songs instead of obscuring them in noise or studio tricks.
                    On the album's best tracks, Harvey sounds sensual, revitalized, and comfortable in her skin; her commanding
                    vocals and guitar playing dominate songs like "Kamikaze" and "This Is Love," a sexy, shouty blues-punk
                    number that features the memorable refrain "I can't believe life is so complex/When I just want to sit here and
                    watch you undress." The New York influences surface on the glamorous punk rock of "Big Exit" and the
                    surprisingly poppy single "Good Fortune," on which Harvey channels both Chrissie Hynde's sexy tough girl
                    and Patti Smith's ferocious yelp.
                    Indeed, though Harvey's work has often been compared to Smith's, Stories From the City, Stories From the
                    Sea comes the closest to an Easter-like blend of punk artiness and pop accessibility.
                    Only on "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore" does the album's N.Y.C.
                    fixation sound forced; still, the power of Harvey's voice and guitar elevate the song into a force to be reckoned
                    with.
                    Even the album's ballads avoid the painful depths that haunted Harvey's darkest songs; on the contrary, they're
                    just quieter, more elegant statements of Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea's hopeful tone.
                    The piano- and marimba-driven "One Line" is one of Harvey's most gorgeous and genuine songs to date, a
                    sweetly urgent plea for love and trust; "This Mess We're In," a duet with Thom Yorke, paints the end of a
                    relationship as bittersweet, not pained; and "Beautiful Feeling" and "Horses in My Dreams," though darker, also
                    reflect this emotionally balanced perspective: "I have pulled myself clear," Harvey sighs on "Horses in My
                    Dreams," and she is believable.
                    For the most part, Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea's unfettered production serves its songs well,
                    but on occasion it sounds a little too slick; the alt-country tinged "You Said Something" and the glossy choruses
                    of the final song, "We Float," veer too close to Lillith Fair territory.
                    On the whole, however, the album strikes a fine balance between the intensity of her earlier work and the polish
                    of her later albums, resulting in her most consistent work since To Bring You My Love.
                    Though longtime fans can't help but miss the visceral impact of works like Dry and Rid of Me, Stories From
                    the City, Stories From the Sea captures Harvey's passionate sound and makes it accessible to a wider audience.
                    Hopefully, the happier, more direct PJ Harvey this album presents is a persona she'll keep around for a while.
 
                - Heather Phares